Observations about the wonderful, unexpected, and sometimes mundane things that should be noticed and celebrated whether found two steps out the door or thousands of miles away.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Global Hotdish

You all probably know what the word, global, means, but hotdish? This is a unique Minnesota word. Everyone else in the U.S. probably says casserole, but in Minnesota, the term is hotdish. On Saturday my older daughter and I enjoyed Global Hotdish at the Minnesota History Center.

The pre-program music and music throughout the show was provided by the Eisner's Klezmorim band.

The glue for the program was provided by Josette Antomarchi. She is originally from southern France and studied theatre in Paris where she became one of the founders of Theatre de la Jeune Lune. This theatre company has been based in the Twin Cities for many years because two of the other founding members were from this area. In her introduction of her life in France, Ms. Antomarchi explained that she is descendent of the the physician who attended Napoleon Bonaparte.

The first performers were the Saana Finnish Folk Ensemble. This is a group of five very talented women, living in the Twin Cities, and all originally from Finland.

This song relates to doing the laundry-- that's why they are folding a cloth. The red color comes about because of spotlights used during this performance. After the performance I stopped to speak with the group members for a bit and shared how much I enjoyed the Finnish dancers I had seen at the International Dance Festival in Pecs. One was puzzled when I mentioned dancing with logs, while another quickly began to imitate the motion of the logs used as a swing.

We were also entertained by Dazzling Dave. Who knew there are National Master Yo-Yo champion? Click here to see his amazing skills with a yo-yo.

A group called Green T productions gave us a view of the Pinocchio story through a Japanese lens.

Dr. Pangea Thunderblust gave all the children a test to learn if they had been paying attention to details such as countries for the dances or performers.

The final section of the program was provided by dancers from the Nay-Ah-Shing School, located on the Mille Lacs Band Reservation in east-central Minnesota.One dancer showed the Traditional Men's Dance. This dance is done only by men who have earned honor -- in the case of this dancer, his service in the U.S. military. His costume shows a bustle of eagle feathers. By treaty with the U.S. government, Indian tribes are able to possess eagle feathers. I would be in real trouble if I had eagle feathers!

And then finally at the end we had Minnesota Global Hotdish when all the performers gathered on the stage to sing together.

We had a wonderful hotdish adventure at the Minnesota History Center. Hope you enjoy learning a bit about my state and its residents.

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About Me

I am a professor emerita from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. In 2010 I was fortunate to be a Fulbright professor with the University of Pecs in southern Hungary. The reports of my Fulbright experience are my personal thoughts and do not represent the viewpoints or principles of the U.S. or Hungarian Fulbright Commissions or those of the U.S. Department of State.